Grocery

[kelleyg19]

This may sound bad, but I never really paid attention to how much money I was spending on grocery for the daycare until I went to calculate the totals for taxes. I am shocked! I spend way to much money on grocery! I do shop at Costco and buy in bulk, but still the totals are crazy! I also provide pretty good snack and meals which consist of lots of fruit, veggies and meat. How much do you find that you spend on grocery per month for your daycare? Do you have a way to sticking to your budget?

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

Ha ha ! I spend about 77-80 dollars per week on food. (I care for 5 children - 3, 2 and a half year olds, and 2 15 month olds) It's amazing how much this little ones need to keep going, isn't it ! It seems like a lot - but I figure that I'm feeding each child 2 meals and 2 snacks for just under five dollars a day. Don't beat yourself up over the food expenses - the cost of food has risen quite dramatically in the last 3 or 4 years. After many years of 200 dollars per week being the normal/average rate for full time care, I actually increased my rates in 2011 to 225 per week. I just explained what most parents already knew - that the cost of healthy food had gone up, and while I could economize and feed the children cheap, poor quality food no one (myself or the parents) wanted that.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Oh hon ~ my grocery bill is the one thing that constantly bums me out at tax time

I have Celiac and my daycare caters to children with food allergies so I provide ALL food including infants pureed as needed because I do not want cross contamination in the kitchen and so forth dealing with 'outside food' ~ I am not looking forward to tallying 2012 years grocery receipts cause I have not even started yet!

Because we eat 'gluten free' totally for me and my spouse and 'mostly' for the daycare as well as organic where possible .... last year my 'total' of the grocery store bills for both my spouse and I and the 5 daycare children was just over $20,000 in total expenses .... of that just over $8,000 was the DAYCARE portion of meals/snacks served daily, weekly sensory materials or science that involve 'food' and all the cleaning materials and so forth which are all on the same receipts so tallied into that grand total ... so I spend about $165 a week on the 'groceries/supplies' for daycare and than about $230 a week on groceries/supplies for the 'house' portion ~ it is insane however we do not eat many 'processed' foods and when I do they cost a fortune ~ a loaf of gluten free bread costs $7-8 for example We also eat a lot of fresh 'meat/veggies/fruit' both in the daycare and our meals all of which are expensive verses buying the frozen or processed options.

[Inspired by Reggio]

....After many years of 200 dollars per week being the normal/average rate for full time care, I actually increased my rates in 2011 to 225 per week. ....

Envious over here ~ my fees are $174 a week and I spend almost that in groceries ~ so basically one kids income goes just towards food supplies

[cfred]

Yeah, like Reggio, my total by the end of the year is around $8000. BUT, that feeds my family too. We all eat the same and my accountant does the tallying for me.

[kidlove]

Wow! I am just under 10 grand for groceries (day care and family) and I'm US! I totally overspend!

[playfelt]

Wow! I am just under 10 grand for groceries (day care and family) and I'm US! I totally overspend!

Don't forget that most of us don't serve a full breakfast, lumch and two snacks. Many don't serve breakfast at all or make morning snack be earlier and a bit more instead. Also totally depends where you live what the price of fresh fruits and veggies is.

[bright sparks]

I too am a gluten free organic home and feed my daycare kids this too. I also wean all my babies on my own prepped food. Parents actually love that they don't have this extra food prep to do, whereas I think its worth it to me to instill the good eating habits and be sure that they are getting well fed. I only ever use fresh fruit and veggies. Never tinned or frozen and my meat and eggs are always either organic or antibiotic free depending on the time of year which effects where I get it from. My annual food bill for the family and daycare children has ranged from 16k-22k and it depends on whether or not I have been completely full for the whole year.

[bright sparks]

Oh and I don't serve breakfast either just 2 snacks and a meal. We do baking frequently but I buy all my grains (pasta,rice,flour etc) bulk and organic.

[Inspired by Reggio]

.... My annual food bill for the family and daycare children has ranged from 16k-22k and it depends on whether or not I have been completely full for the whole year.

Phew good to know my average of around $20,000 a year on a gluten free household is not too out to lunch ~ pardon the pun